The Highway Code generally prohibits overtaking a vehicle on the right, but there are rare exceptions.
Although some motorists tend to forget it, the Highway Code requires that overtaking must take place on the left in France. Overtaking a vehicle from the right is considered a dangerous maneuver, punishable by a 4th class fine (135 euros) and punishable by a withdrawal of three points on the driving license. If the sanction is dissuasive, this does not prevent us from seeing vehicles placed on a lane on the right on a daily basis ignoring those traveling on a lane further to the left. Sometimes with confidence, as if this nevertheless primordial rule of conduct did not exist.
If these motorists are at fault the majority of the time, rare situations can prove them right. If you drive regularly, you may have already wondered in a specific case whether you have the right to overtake the car in front of you on the right side. If it was on the highway because a car was dragging itself at 110 km/h in the middle lane while the right lane was free, let’s cut the discussion short, it’s no. We often see motorists on motorways moving up the right lane and overtaking those who are in the middle lane. If the latter should pull back as stipulated by the Highway Code, this in no case gives the right to overtake them other than from the left.
So, what are the exceptional cases that allow this maneuver to be carried out? There are two. First, when vehicles are traveling on several parallel lanes and traffic is extremely dense, which is quite common in large cities during rush hours. At this time, nothing prohibits overtaking vehicles positioned further to the left when your line allows you to move forward. This is the implicit rule that applies to traffic jams. If the lane on the right allows you to move faster than the lane(s) on the left, have no fear, no one will come and fine you.
The second situation is less common and perhaps causes a little more confusion in the minds of motorists. Sometimes you find yourself behind a vehicle when approaching an intersection. If he clearly indicates with his indicator his intention to turn left, then moving to the right to overtake him without having to wait for him to completely change direction is permitted. In this case overtaking is done on the right but on a vehicle which is about to take another road.
Change of direction to the left and slowed or even stopped traffic, these are the only two situations in which the law authorizes overtaking on the right in France. We can add the overtaking of trams, more and more numerous in cities, when they travel in the middle of a two-way road.